Apart From You
by yetti
Summary: Sonny and Chad have been best friends pretty much since birth. However, when Chad moves away, the connection they had is instantly broken. Years later, Chad moves back, but everything changed for Sonny after he left her behind, and now he has to find a way back to her. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
**

_A gentle breeze moved the leaves on the Cedar tree, stirring up a puff of pollen that set the forest on fire in the eyes of neighbours six year-old Sonny and seven year-old Chad. Forest, of course, being a very loose term our two intrepid explorers used to describe the five fifteen-foot assorted trees on the right of the old and infamous 'Nightmare House', which was really just an abandoned Victorian-era house the neighbourhood had accepted because it has 'history'. But that's all grown-up talk; as far as these young friends were concerned, it was the most dangerous place on Earth._

_They were crouching behind the broken remnants of the picket fence, protected in their hiding place from all threats obviously posed everywhere in the building they faced. _

"_You're scared." Chad chided, poking Sonny in the side so that she squealed, completely disproving her next comment._

"_I am not, you are." She scowled over her should at her best friend since birth._

_He smiled back, and soon enough the pair were grinning at each other, their tiny bodies filling with adrenaline as they slowly crept through the pint-sized gaps in the fence._

_Standing on the lawn was a significant change from the safe sidewalk they'd been on mere moments ago, and they both felt the shift of realisation. Chad glanced over at his brave, but still sensitive girl friend (whom he had to regularly assure all his other friends was _not_ his girlfriend). His presence was at this point forgotten, and all bravado lost to the utter terror the realisation of what they were about to do. With the tiniest second of hesitation (which was directly related to his consideration of the girl cooties he knew she must have), Chad gently grasped Sonny's hand._

_She turned slightly, unwilling to take her eyes fully off the 'Nightmare House', and gripped his fingers. It hurt a little, but he didn't say anything._

_He moved forward, continuing on their journey into the unknown, but a tug on his hand halted him. He turned back to look at Sonny; the fear and pleading on her face destroyed any conviction he had to complete their mission._

"_Sonny," he smiled sheepishly, "Would you mind if we didn't go? I'm a little too scared."_

_Sonny sighed with relief and spoke at the same time, already making a start on her retreat. "If you're scared, that's fine."_

_Chad smiled to himself. "Thanks, Sonny. You're my best friend."_

_Once they were safely on the other side of the fence, Sonny spun and threw her arms around Chad's neck. "You're my best friend, too."_

_Chad hugged her back awkwardly, remembering his earlier concerns about girl cooties, but ignoring the urge to pull away because – and he'd never ever admit this, of course – it didn't feel one hundred percent bad. _

_Sonny finally let go, but didn't immediately step back. Chad looked down curiously at her. A silent moment passed where neither really knew what was going on or what was going to happen, then suddenly – as if not of her own volition – Sonny rolled up onto the balls of her feet and planted a light kiss on his lips. _

_It lasted only a moment, and then they were apart, once again silent. Both stared at their feet uncomfortably for the longest time in either of their lives. Eventually, much to the relief of the pair, a yell came from down the street._

"_Sonny, Chad?! What did we say about going into that house?!"_

_Now relieved from speaking of what had just happened, the two best friends drew their eyes up to each other, mischievous grins spreading across their faces._

_Sonny was the first to look away, down to where her mother had called to them. "We didn't, Mom, Chad got too scared!"_

_Chad's jaw dropped as Sonny's head popped to see his reaction._

_A moment later he was chasing her down the street, back to the safety of their houses and mothers, both shrieking with glee._

* * *

Sonny say it happening, but there was just no way she could stop it. She had a tray filled with glasses brimming with beer and other alcoholic beverages in one hand and a platter of starters in the other. Stopping the buck head from breaking off of the wall under the weight of the excessively drunk guy currently (but not for long) straddling it would have been impossible with free hands, let alone in her heavily-laden state. So, to save her customers order – and, with that, her tip – she simply took a step backwards and carefully turned the food and drink so that it didn't catch any of the plaster now showering the area she'd been stood in moments ago.

With a sigh, she skilfully manoeuvred her way around the moaning man on the floor and placed the items on their table, with only the mildest of proud flourishes. Not that anyone at the table paid her any mind; they were all too busy openly gawking at the now-bawling drunk on the floor as he nursed his well-deserved injuries.

Having completed her task, she finally rounded on the guy, speaking politely (though admittedly through her teeth), "Are you alright, sir?"

He looked up at her, as if just realising that there were people standing around him, and abruptly vomited all down the front of her apron.

Sonny, sadly, barely reacted, as was the regularity of this type of occurrence in the past week. She sighed and grabbed the dishrag from her back pocket, telling herself that today was the last day, tomorrow they'd all be gone.

Cleaning up drunks was exactly what you'd expect a job at a bar in a big city, but in her small town of Wimberley, Texas, Sonny had thought it would mean getting to see her few remaining friends from around town who patronised the fine (and only) establishment in town that served alcohol. That, however, was not the case for one week in March every year: Spring Break.

For some unknown reason, her tiny town an hour out of Austin had become a popular haunt for co-eds from local colleges looking for a cheap holiday. That meant that she had to single-handedly (because Jo, the owner and her cheapskate, deadbeat employer, refused to hire another waitress, even if only for a week) deal with up to thirty grabby college students. Thankfully, a few other places around town got temporary alcohol licenses for this week, but still, Jo's was the favourite.

"Hey, sweet thing." Drunk guy slurred up at her as she tried to clean him up, and Sonny gagged as a bubble appeared in the vomit lining his lips. "Wanna get outta here?"

She gave him a tight-lipped smile, then turned quickly to his supposed friends standing by, watching him make mistakes like climbing atop a mounted buck head on the wrong side of twelve various shots. "Whose bill do I put this on?"

The all laughed and pointed at the guy rolling on the floor. Sonny stood and hurried back behind the bar. Greg, the barman, quirked an eyebrow in question, but hadn't the time to hear what had happened, because a frat-boy was waving his hand in front of his face to be served.

Sonny quickly took off the vomit-covered apron, wiping away whatever had transferred to her other clothes, and made her way back onto the busy floor, now adorned only in mid-thigh length grey denim skirt and a white tank top with a blue button-up shirt over top. If she took her hair down she could probably blend right in with the crowd and never have to wait on these people again. Wishful thinking, but if she did that she'd lose her job, and in a town this small, you didn't through away jobs, no matter how demeaning.

"Hey, Miss?" Sonny turned to the voice, making the safe assumption that it was for her. It was one of drunk guy's 'friends'. She headed over.

"Can I help?" She spoke to him, but she was already eyeing the rest of the room, seeing who needed serving so she could line up her next customer.

"Maybe." He smirked, and she already knew this conversation would be a waste of her time. "What time do you get off?" He chuckled to himself. "I mean, what time do you finish here, getting off can come just after." With a wink, he took a step closer.

Sonny sighed. "I'm really busy, and really not interested. Do you need anything or not?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "What's your deal? Are you gay or something?"

Sonny rolled her eyes. "Will that get you to leave me alone?"

In whatever drunken state he was in, he'd interpreted this as a come-on. He laughed. "Not if you're still game."

With agility unbefitting how obviously drunk he was, he ducked his head and suddenly his lips were planted near enough on hers, and his arm had wrapped around the back her neck. Despite her ferocious struggling, he held on, and his other hand slowly ran down her back and firmly grasped her ass, making her gasp. This, of course, gave him cause to believe she was into it, and he wedged his tongue in her mouth.

This was Sonny's opportunity, and she bit down hard (but not so hard as to really hurt him). He immediately released every part of her. Before she knew what was happening, he was swept back in the crowd and everyone was cheering around her like they'd witnessed a great sporting event. Money was exchanged, and it became quickly clear that betting had taken place over whether this guy could go all the way with the wait staff.

Sonny's breathing hitched, her chest tightened and hand went clammy. All the attention was on her, every head turned her way, laughing at her, taunting her. She had to get out.

She screamed and threw her arms out, thrashing until enough of a space was cleared that she could force her way out of the crowd and through to the back storage room. As she reached the door, as an afterthought she shot a glance back to Greg, ready to wave that she was taking a break, but her was already nodding at her, encouraging her to go. He'd seen it all, and that somehow made it worse. Being humiliated in front of these people was awful, but they would be gone soon enough, never to grace Sonny's life with their presence again. She knew Greg, she spent every day with him. She coached his daughter's swimming team.

Once she was in the safety of the dark, relatively quiet storage room, her heart slowed and her breathing evened. She sat for a while at the table Jo had put back there for high stakes poker games, before the sheriff had caught him, feeling her body relax.

She decided that Greg could handle the bar for a while longer, and ducked out the back door, relishing the feel of cool night air in her tired lungs. She paced the alley out the back of Jo's bar. It was a closed-off area, the only access to it came from the road running parallel to the one the bar was actually on, so she was safe here from college students with prying eyes and loud mouths.

She stared at the sky, recognising stars and constellations she'd learned in a different lifetime, before the bitter memories associated with them hit her and she turned her attention back to the Earth. A glance at her watch told her that she'd left Greg far longer than she'd intended, and much longer than he'd probably anticipated, and she hurried back in, ready to make it up to him by working herself three times as hard until closing.

She froze in the door to the main room. Through all the flurry of activity in the bar she saw him at the bar. It didn't take a second for her eyes to find him. Looking at him used to be as natural as breathing for her, it just happened; whenever he was nearby, her eyes would be drawn to him. She just hadn't realised that was still the case.

She pushed her way to the bar, ignoring comments that would have moments ago sent a flush through her. A few feet from the bar, she briefly entertained the idea that she could pretend she hadn't seen him, and he would ignore her, but that was quickly forgotten when his head finally turned towards her and their eyes met.

She made her way to the opposite side of the bar, where Greg stood awkwardly. In a town this small, everyone knew everyone, so he knew what our history was, and was maybe guessing how I was going to react.

I rested my elbows on the surface in front of him and nodded in greeting. "Chase."

He smiled apprehensively. "Sonny."

I stared him down. "What are you doing here?"

Chase leaned forward, so that our arms brushed together, and I immediately retracted, letting my arms fall to my sides. He flinched like I'd hurt him.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said after he'd recovered. "What happened to college?"

Sonny's eyes narrowed at him infinitesimally, half gauging if he was being honest and half annoyed by his words. "You don't know?"

Chase's face remained still, unlike before, giving no indication of his thoughts. "Know what?"

Sonny remained silent for a moment, deciding what to say. In the end, she went with, "Things change when you're away for six years, Chase."

With that she turned and made her way back to the floor, ignoring his calls to come back and explain. She busied herself around the room, praying he wouldn't follow her around and further her embarrassment from earlier with another drama centred around her. After five minutes, she couldn't help but glance back at the bar, but he wasn't there.

She didn't see him again that night, but that didn't stop her body from being filled with ice and red hot flames all at the same time until she went to bed, and she could convince herself she'd imagined the whole thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sonny opened her eyes in the morning to a lot more light than she was expecting. It had taken her hours to fall asleep, because – despite her plan to forget seeing Chad – she couldn't get his blue eyes to stop appearing every time she shut hers.

Her cheapskate boss at the bar didn't pay half as much as she needed for rent and food, so she also picked up morning shifts at the local hardware store to make up the rest, and it just so happened that the start of that shift was an hour earlier.

Sonny jumped out of bed, eyes crazed and mouth dry from a restless night snoring. She slipped her jean shorts over the underwear she'd worn in bed and tied her bed-shirt at the back so that it wasn't so loose, at that same time she stepping into her plimsolls. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and tied it in a looped ponytail. With a quick check in the mirror confirming she looked exactly as awful as she felt, she grabbed her keys and ran out of her apartment onto the stairs that led down the side of the building. Thankfully, the building she lived in was over the top of the tiny hardware store, and so it took her only a few seconds to commute.

She burst into the shop, surprised it was open at all without her there to unlock the doors, and scanned the room. Sure enough, Harkin Lenox sat at the counter, leering at her over his paper like he'd been staring at that spot just waiting for her to walk in.

Harkin was the son of the shop's owner, Buddy Lenox, and his polar opposite. Where Buddy was kind and giving, Harkin was greedy and lecherous. But Sonny put up with his lewd comments, occasional groping and generally inappropriate behaviour because Buddy had been like a father to her when she'd most needed it. She owed everything she had to him, and – despite his insistence that it was nothing – she would never forget it.

Harkin manned the hardware store in the afternoon, usually relieving Sonny after he'd made his rounds checking on the rest of his dad's shops and businesses around town. Obviously he'd had other plans today.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Harkin, I overslept." She hurried over to the counter, expecting him to stand so that she could take her place behind it.

He didn't, instead just leaning towards her from his perch, making her wish she'd held back on her approach. "I know, sugar plums, I made sure of it."

Sonny froze, her entire body tensing up. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I figured you needed the sleep." He smirked, clearly baiting her.

"What gave you that idea?" Sonny eyed him warily. Odds were he'd hear about her encounter with Chad eventually, but there was no way it would have gotten back to him this early on, what with most of the bar's customers from last night leaving this morning.

He smiled seductively, a slimy look on a slimy guy. "You just looked tired when I popped in this morning."

Sonny shuddered as he brushed a finger along her arm. She didn't know what to think, surely he was messing with her. "What the hell were you doing in my apartment, Harkin?" There wasn't the power behind the question that there needed to be. She couldn't afford to lose this job, and despite being a leech, he was a leech that could take away her job, and with it her apartment.

Harkin laughed. "You didn't seem to mind this last night. You know, they say a woman's subconscious reactions tell you what she wants." His smile faded into a look of lust that terrified Sonny, his voice coming out as a whisper when he leant into her ear. "And now I know what you want, Orphan Sanny."

At that moment, the bell over the door chimed and Harkin jumped away. Never had Sonny wanted to kiss a customer so much before. She turned to see her saviour, and regretted any thoughts of kissing immediately.

"Chad, what are you doing here?" It came out like an accusation, but he had no idea how much she appreciated his presence at that exact second.

Chad smiled, oblivious to what he'd saved her from. "I actually came in for some tools, believe it or not. I didn't know you worked here." He said it like a statement, but the question was implied. If he wasn't treading carefully around her, he clearly would have asked outright.

Harkin rolled his eyes, as irked by Chad's interruption as Sonny was relieved. "I guess I'd better get going, I'm real busy. See you later, Orphan Sanny."

The bell once again tolled as he finally left, and Sonny felt her shoulders relax. She turned to Chad, now, who was suddenly staring at her, his eyebrows pulled together in concern. Concern that she wasn't interested in noting.

"How can I help?" Sonny asked, ignoring the butterflies clawing their way up out of her stomach and into her mouth.

Chad ignored her question completely. "What does he mean _Orphan Sanny_?"

Sonny looked down, avoiding his eyes, but he moved towards her, ducking his head so that she had no choice but to look at him. It was an oh-so-clever play on her name and 'Orphan Annie' that Harkin was very proud of. He used it so often that Sonny had become numb to it, but she tried not to really think about it.

"I couldn't say." She was lying. He used to always know when she was lying. So much had changed since she'd last spoken to him, let alone lied, that she had no clue whether that was the case anymore.

Chad's eyes narrowed, and she took too much pleasure in seeing the recognition of a lie in his face. "Yes, you could."

Her head snapped up and she leaned forward, spitting her words. "Yes, I could, but I won't." She caught herself. The bitterness she'd tried desperately to hide had leaked into her voice, and she scolded herself for it, leaning back so that she was as far away from him as possible.

She took a calming breath, which didn't really work, but it gave her time to compose herself and reapply the mask of indifference that had no doubt shattered when she'd snapped at him. Nonetheless, she felt better with it on. "Just tell me what you want, Chad."

Chad leaned further over the counter. "I want you to tell me what's going on, Sonny."

Sonny shook her head. "I mean what tools."

Chad's eyebrows furrowed, but he ignored her. "Please, Sonny, I just want to know. Maybe I can help?" He rested a hand on her arm, which had somehow found itself on the counter beside him.

Sonny yanked it back as if burned. "You can't. You left."

Chad quieted for a long time. "Sonny… Did your parents–"

She interrupted him by slamming her stool back against the wall and storming around the counter towards the front door. "I'm not an orphan, Chad."

Chad ran a hand through his hair as she went, confounded. It was shorter than when he'd left, she noticed, more stylish. "What am I missing here, Sonny?"

"It's not about what you're missing, it's about what you missed." She opened the door. "Please come back later when I'm not here for your tools."

Chad shook his head slightly, as if just remembering that he'd originally come in for tools, then did as she asked and walked out, the bell over the door ringing in her ears as she watched him go.

* * *

_Sonny's hands gripped the steering wheel to her mom's red Jeep Wrangler outside of the restaurant. Graduation was in a week, prom was two nights ago and the love of her life was waiting inside the pizzeria to tell her something. Her best friend, Georgia, who was going with her to the University of Texas at Austin after the summer, thought that today was the day he was going to propose to Sonny. Last night, when Georgia had suggested it, Sonny was so excited, so certain she was going to say yes and that her life was utterly perfect._

_And yet, climbing out of the car, Sonny was heartbroken. With all the reasons she had to be overjoyed at that exact moment, it didn't make sense that she was so unhappy, but she was. Unfortunately, she had a very good reason not to be happy, a reason that far outweighed the good things she had going on right now._

_With a heavy heart, she pushed her way into the restaurant and headed straight over to their booth, the one where they'd had their first official date and pretty much every date since. There weren't many restaurants in a town this size, let alone good ones, so Paula's Pizzas was the place to be._

_Sonny was surprised that he wasn't there yet, waiting for her like he usually was, but at least it gave her time to compose herself. She hoped she could prevent him from proposing today by telling him what was going on before he had a chance, but if she didn't manage it, she didn't want him to remember the day he asked her to marry him with her looking so miserable._

_She thankfully didn't have to wait long, and with a ding from the bell over the door, Sonny looked up to see Chad Dylan Cooper walk in. He, too, didn't need to look around to find her, as his eyes went immediately to their booth. Sonny smiled up at the boy she loved, glad she'd gotten there first now, because the sun shining through the door lit up his golden hair like a halo and he shone radiantly. It was beautiful._

_She stood when he got to her, rolling up onto her toes to greet him with a kiss. He kissed back, but leaned away quickly, not meeting her eyes when he did so. Sonny's curiosity peaked._

"_Hey, what's up?" She shuffled back into the booth's seat, but he stayed where he was, so she gestured to the seat opposite her, almost laughing at his awkwardness._

_Concern raced through her when he didn't reply, still not meeting her eyes, and any urge to laugh left her completely. _

"_Seriously, Chad, what's going on?" She rested her hand on his arm, which finally encouraged him to look at her._

_He stayed standing, but spoke. "Sonny, I have to tell you something."_

_Suspicion flared in Sonny. Was this the start of his proposal? Was he acting like this because of nerves? She nodded for him to continue._

"_Sonny…" He ran a hand through his golden hair, considering how to carry on. "Do you remember that film crew that was here a few weeks ago, shooting that small town film?"_

_Sonny shook her head with confusion. "Of course I do, it was all you talked about for weeks, before and after…"_

_Chad nodded. "Well, when they left, I managed to give their producer a CV. A few days ago I got a call offering me a job. It's low level, really just a personal assistant, but it's the foot in the door I always dreamed of."_

_Sonny stared at him. "So, what does this mean?"_

_Chad bit his lip. "Sonny, I've got a job in LA. My dream job. I'm taking it."_

_Sonny couldn't wrap her head around his words. "What about UT?"_

_Chad rested a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her sympathetically. "Sonny, I'm moving to LA."_

_Still, she didn't understand – couldn't understand. "When will you be back?"_

_He paused, unsure of what else he could say to make her see. "It's a full time job, Sonny. We always said we wanted to get out of this town…."_

_It slowly dawned on her. He was leaving. "Chad, I…" This couldn't have happened at a worse time. "You're leaving me?"_

_Chad's face drew in with pain, quickly replaced by determination. "Come with me. My car's all packed, we can swing by your house and grab your stuff…"_

_Sonny gaped at him. "Your car's packed… You're going now?"_

_Chad nodded. "And you're coming with me."_

"_What? I can't, I…" If he'd asked her even two days ago, there would have been no doubt in her mind that she would have said yes. But things had changed since then._

"_Why not? You have nothing tying you down here. Your parents will be fine here, they can visit us there when they want to see you, and…" Sonny flinched. He had no idea. He laughed and continued. "It's the dream, Sonny. We always talked about this. Together forever, anywhere, just not Wimberley."_

"_Chad, you don't understand…" Sonny started, trying to explain what was going on with her right now._

"_What don't I understand?" He stared down at her, and she saw it in his face. He wanted to understand, he wanted to know so that he could help._

_If she told him what was wrong, he would stay. He would give up his dream job, walk away from his aspirations and stay. And she wouldn't have that. "Chad…"_

"_Sonny?" He was still waiting for an answer, but she had none to give that wouldn't ruin his life as much as it had already laid waste to hers._

"_I just can't." She slumped back into the chair staring at her hands as she fiddled with the placemats._

"_Fine. But I'm still going. I'm sorry, Sonny." He sounded confident, but stood there awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. She knew where this had to go, but she also knew Chad. There was no way he was going to be the instigator in their break-up, even if he had to be._

_Sonny stood, resolve hitting her like a tonne of bricks, injecting the necessary poison into her tone. "Wait, is this you breaking up with me? Is this your way of getting out?"_

"_No, Sonny, I…" He backpedalled. "I don't want to, this isn't an excuse. It's just… There's no way we can carry on when we're on opposite sides of the country! You have to see that!" She did. Better than he did. _

_Sonny let out a guttural snort, pushing past him and storming out of the restaurant. He quickly followed, calling after her to stop._

"_Sonny!" Chad had caught up to her now, just an arm's length behind her. "M'lady…"_

"Don't_…" Sonny span, pointing a finger in his face. "Don't call me that. You made in perfectly clear that I'm not your lady anymore. Congrats, Chad, you're free to go to LA, unhindered by your small town girlfriend."_

_She span away from him, walking past her mom's car, feeling the need to walk. He didn't follow this time, and with every step away from him she felt the tear in her heart spread, pulling her apart. She didn't realise she was crying until the tears were dropping off of her chin._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"_Hey, Chad." Millicent Bennett was running her hand along his arm. Millicent Bennett._

_She was very likely the hottest girl of her age in existence, the kind of girl you couldn't refer to without using her full name. It made no sense that she was from such a small town. Her body was the height of perfection, and every guy in school – underclassman, upperclassman, teachers – _every_ guy wanted her. And she was running her hand up and down _his _arm, staring into _his _eyes, leaning forward so that _he_ could see straight down to her bra and he… he just wasn't interested. He really was indifferent to her perfect body, her perfect hair, all of it. _

_Because just down the hall, opposite the entrance to the auditorium, Erik Sullivan was talking to Sonny. _

_Ever since they'd started high school, Chad and Sonny had spent less and less time together, and now, at the start of junior year, they were officially out of each other's lives. They hadn't so much as met up _once_ over the summer. She'd been totally off his radar. _

_Not in a mean way; if they made eye contact or something they might wave or nod or smile, if they were having a good day, but they wouldn't stop and talk. Not like before, when they'd been practically inseparable from birth. Even through middle school, there'd been no strain. It was just high school, and Chad's foray into football. _

_He'd never really spent time with any of the other guys on the team, but, once he joined, he just naturally transitioned into that clique, leaving Sonny behind with all of his old friends. And he'd never really looked back before. It wasn't a sudden or dramatic change, so he couldn't really have done anything about it, so why feel bad? Sure he missed her sometimes, but why force it?_

_And yet, seeing Erik fucking Sullivan lean into her ear and make her smile prickled his biscuit more than he cared to say. Which was why he had completely ignored whatever Millicent Bennett had just said to him. _

_He looked up blankly at her. "Say again?"_

_Millicent took in a sharp breath and held it for a long time, her nostrils flaring. She was clearly not used to being ignored._

_Eventually she repeated herself, this time in a somewhat more clipped tone. "I was just pointing out how we both were lacking dates to homecoming in a couple weeks, and how it may be prudent for you to ask me now, while that is still the case."_

_Chad's brows lifted. It was inconceivable for Millicent Bennett to make the first move. She'd never had to. A week – hell – an hour ago, Chad would have sold his soul, kidney, anything they'd take for an opportunity to be the guy Millicent Bennett made the first move on, but at this moment, Sonny was being flirted with down the hall, and Chad's mind could not get away from the fact that it should absolutely be him doing the flirting. _

_Chad prepared himself to tell Millicent something she no doubt had yet to hear. "I'm sorry, Millicent, I just don't think we're a good fit."_

_He quickly got the hell out of Dodge and made a beeline down the hall for Sonny. However, with the whole Millicent Bennett distraction, Sonny had managed to evade him. He stared at where she had been leaning against the lockers, confused by how quickly everything had changed. _

"_Chad?" He span to the sound of his name, coming from the mouth of the exact person his whole mind was centred around. _

_She looked at him expectantly, but it was all he could do to stop himself from gaping open-mouthed at her. How did she look this different so suddenly? When had her curves filled out, when did her hair get that shine, when was it that her face had lost its youthful roundness, when has she gotten so… sexy? She was positively divine, and not just because Erik was currently standing behind her staring at her ass. _

_And so Chad's attention moved from perfection to the devil incarnate. "Hey, buddy, what are you looking at?"_

_Erik looked up, distracted. "What?"_

_Chad gently pushed Sonny aside so that he was face to face with Erik (and, conveniently, he had placed himself between Sonny and Erik, so that there would be no more ogling). _

"_You heard me, dude." He glared down at the shorter and significantly less toned boy menacingly, reminding him which one of the two was a football player. "Less of the creepy staring at her ass."_

_Erik looked between Chad and Sonny, confusion drawing his eyebrows together. "I thought you guys weren't even friends anymore… I thought you'd lost interest…"_

_Chad stared him down. _

_Erik backpedalled quickly. "Sorry, man, I didn't know." He scurried away, leaving Chad stood in a hallway that should have been emptying as people headed to class, but was oddly crowded as he turned to face a befuddled Sonny. _

_She continued staring at him, waiting for him to do something, anything. _

_But suddenly Chad had forgotten how to speak, because up close – all of the things he'd just noticed when standing down the hall – all of them were that much more intense up close. She was stunning! How had he not seen that before? How had he spent all of this time overlooking all of that beauty? How… had he spent this much time silent? Sonny was starting to give him a funny look. _

"_I think…" Chad began, but almost immediately upon opening his mouth his chest clenched with fear and breathing became near impossible, let alone speaking._

_Sonny moved towards him, spurred by his words. "You think…?"_

_Chad was encouraged by the almost playful familiarity in her voice. "I think I may like you."_

_Sonny looked into his eyes, a small smile spreading across her perfect lips. "Chad…"_

"_No," Chad stopped her, breaking the eye contact and focusing on his hands. "I mean, I think I really like you. Like you like more than friends, like–"_

"_Chad." It was Sonny's turn to stop him. _

_He looked up slowly, noticing the same knowing look gracing her features. _

_She moved closer to him, the small smile growing to a dazzling one. "Well it's about damn time."_

_And with that she rolled up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. His eyes widened in shock momentarily, but he quickly leaned in and closed his eyes, making the most of the opportunity. _

_It was a brief kiss, but it epitomised perfection. It's brevity stemmed from the cheer that rose up just seconds after their lips met, and the pair looked up to see the hallway filled with students applauding them. Shouts of "Way to go!" and "Finally!" came from every direction, and he realised he shouldn't be surprised. After all, it had been a long time coming, even if he'd only appreciated this himself in the past ten minutes. He saw all of his friends' faces beaming at him and wondered how they'd had the patience; if he'd known there was no way he'd have let it go on this long._

_Looking around, Chad also Millicent Bennett pouting by the bathroom and laughed, turning back to his girl. "Well, m'lady. What do we do now?" _

_Sonny chuckled at her new nickname before once again leaning in. "This."_

* * *

Chad stared through the window at the girl he used to know. Gone was any trace of the playfulness he'd once loved, replaced by fear and bitterness and God only knows what else. What had happened to her that she'd changed this much?

When he'd first come back, he'd intended to settle in, to make a life for himself here irrespective of how Sonny reacted to his return. Hell, he'd half expected her to be long gone by now! But now that he saw her, in this state, his mind couldn't focus on anything but her. Who cared if he had a house or a job if her life wasn't what she wanted it to be?

And it seemed that the town had turned on him in his absence. He'd once been a beloved local hero: the star quarterback. That had basically guaranteed him a life of great service, friendly faces and answers to questions that plagued him, but apparently the town was now on Sonny's side. Nobody would tell him what was going on, and nobody would put a good word in with Sonny for him.

It was driving him crazy. Ever since their interaction in the hardware store, it was all Chad could do to not run up to her and shake her until she told him what was wrong so that he could make everything better. And he refused to believe that he couldn't fix it, despite the town's urgings otherwise. Whatever it was, he _would _fix it. He'd find a way.

With a deep brave to stave off the nerves, Chad pulled open the door to the town's diner: Wimberley Western Way Diner. It wasn't the best place in town, but it still had plenty of regular customers because everything was inexplicably cheap and had always been so, as if untouched by inflation.

He walked straight over to her table, but she didn't notice him until he spoke. "Mind if I join you?"

She glanced around, seeing that there were plenty of empty tables he could sit at if she chose to say no, before her eyes settled on him. For an unbearable amount of time, they analysed him. So long, in fact, that he was certain she would say no, and was about to excuse himself to save the rejection.

But she was still managing to surprise him. "Okay."

It took him a moment to get his feet to work, but once they did he sat quickly down before she could change her mind and have him kicked out on his ass.

They said nothing to each other for a long time. Not when she accidentally kicked his shin, not when the waitress – an old friend from high school who purposefully avoided small talk to get away from the table as quickly as possible – came over to take their order, not when the food arrived.

It took every ounce of Chad's self-control to pull it off.

If he was going to get anywhere with her, he had to let her take the lead. She may not be the Sonny he'd known his entire life anymore, the one who'd love him, but this Sonny still had some of that Sonny in her, and it was her need to control any and all situations that he was counting on working for him here. By some miracle, it paid off when she made first contact.

She coughed, and shuffled in her seat, drawing attention to herself so she could speak. "The fire station burned down."

Chad smiled, overjoyed that she'd spoken – willingly – to him, but he softened his reaction so not to spook her. "We always said it would."

Sonny nodded, playing with her food rather than looking directly at him. "Janice got carried away with the accelerants at the Halloween bonfire and Ken-o set it up too close to the trucks. There was a huge explosion. The Chief broke a rib."

Chad laughed, unable to stop himself from filling the quiet diner with the sudden burst of sound. He admonished himself when Sonny looked up, startled, but didn't dwell on it, too into her story to contain his glee. "That's what happens when you hire incompetent arsonists-wannabes. It was gonna happen eventually. The Chief recovered?"

Sonny nodded slowly, and Chad worried that he'd been too enthusiastic. "He did, but after that they finally sent out a trained professional. Town's a whole lot safer now."

"I'm glad."

"We all are."

The silence didn't return. Throughout their meals, and a little while after, Sonny filled Chad in on mundane things that had happened around town during his absence, and Chad reacted accordingly. He gently pushed for further details when appropriate and laughed when he could. It was all going very well.

"Erik and Millicent?!"Chad slapped his hand down on the table, laughing loudly. "No way! What the hell happened to him that put him anywhere near her league?"

Sonny didn't find it quite as amusing, which became immediately clear as her whole body shifted out of its semi-relaxed state. "Love," she stated plainly.

Chad stopped laughing, his smile slowly fading.

After a moment of awkward silence, Chad went for it, ignoring the sensible-sounding voice in his head telling him to take it slow with this Sonny. "It's funny as well, do you remember the day of our first kiss?" Sonny's eyes flashed a warning and the voice in his head got louder, but he stupidly talked over it. "Millicent was talking to me and Erik was talking to you and we managed to find each other."

Sonny pushed her plate away, her face once again closed off. "I should be going. Early start."

Chad sighed, the voice in his head whispering a belligerent _'I told you so'_.

He got up and threw down enough money to cover them both without thinking. She shook her head, picking up some of the bills and handing them back to him.

"You don't have to pay for me." She refused him eye contact as she tried to stuff the notes back into his hand.

Chad took the money, but put it right back down on the table. "No, I insist. It's the least I can do after you let me sit with you."

Sonny started nibbling on the corner of her lip, contemplating. "Okay. Thank you."

He nodded and made for the door, holding it for her as she followed.

He opened his mouth to say his goodnight, but she spoke before he had a chance. "You can walk me home?"

Chad froze, checking her face to see if she was being serious.

Sonny took his shock as hesitation and quickly withdrew. "I mean, if you want to, I don't–"

Chad stopped her before she could get too far away from him. "I'd love to."

Sonny nodded and turned on her heel. She looked like she regretted her offer, speeding away in the direction of the main road through town. Chad had to run to catch up and walk beside her.

The familiar silence that seemed all too common between them of late came back, but this time it felt less awkward, nearing a comfortable silence. Before he'd left, Chad and Sonny had always had something to say to the other. Awkward silences had never been a problem because neither of them were ever silent. This was a new experience for the pair, and Chad could feel his Sonny drifting away from him, this Sonny – the distant Sonny – replacing her.

He was about to say something, anything, to get back to their comfortable chatting, when Sonny made a hard left at the hardware store and started down the alley at the back. Chad was about to laugh and ask her where she was going, when he realised she must be living in the apartment there and quickly stopped himself.

Before he could even think about what to say, Sonny froze and came to a complete stop, staring at the top of the stairs to her apartment. Chad followed her gaze and saw a young woman standing there, holding the hand of a little boy; he was maybe five years old.

The boy smiled upon seeing Sonny, and called out to her while running down the steps (as best he could, given his height). "Mommy!"

Chad's body turned to ice.

Sonny rushed forward, leaving Chad gaping in her wake. She picked up the boy and carried him over to the woman stood awkwardly on the steps. "What are you doing here, Marie, I thought I had another week paid?"

Marie shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Sonny, your cheque bounced… I tried to get them to give you time to fix it, but they said that this had happened before…?"

Sonny was shaking her head before Marie had finished. "That shouldn't have happened, I should have that money… I'll check with my bank in the morning…"

Marie came down the steps, worry pulling at her features. "Will you be okay tonight? I can stay with you guys, I don't mind."

Sonny smiled kindly, but even from where Chad stood he could see her anxiety. "Thank you, but that's alright. I can manage for one night, I'm sure I can sort it all out after that."

Marie nodded, but didn't look like she completely believed Sonny. "Okay…"

Sonny shifted the boy on her hip and started toward the stairs. "Alright, well, I'll see you soon, Marie."

Marie nodded, relief evident on her face. "Yes, Miss Munroe. Goodnight."

With that she hurried away, brushing past Chad on her way, finally awaking him from his shock. He ran forward in time to stop Sonny near the bottom of the stairs.

"Sonny, I…" He was breathing so fast, his heart racing. Sonny turned, her face hard. "Who is this?"

Sonny's face softened momentarily, but the hard mask quickly replaced it. "You should go, Chad. I can't… explain this right now."

She quickly climbed the stairs, Chad watching as she went. Over her shoulder, the little boy scrutinised Chad, his mouth forming a tiny 'o'. Chad stared at him, at his bright blue eyes, blonde hair…

"Sonny…" He called out one last time, desperate.

But she was gone.


End file.
